The contrastive hierarchy in phonology 2009 Dresher.pdf - CUNY ...

(2.21) Three-vowel system, features [high], [round], [back]
a. Full specifications
i a u
high + – +
round – – +
back – + +
b. Specifications according to the pairwise approach
i a u Minimal pairs
high none
round none
back none
2.5.3. Minimal pairs and feature space
We can approach the problem of algorithms that depend on minimal pairs by
considering more generally how inventories fill out the available space of feature
specifications. Two binary features, F and G, define a two-dimensional feature
space with nodes at four possible values: [–F, –G], [–F, +G], [+F, –G], and [+F,
+G]. This space can be diagramed as in (2.22). 8
8 Compare the information-theoretic adjacency graphs employed by Shannon (1993 [1956]); see
Hall (2004, 2007) for discussion.
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